This invention relates to a beverage type container and more particularly, to an improved lid for beverage type containers such as are employed to contain soft drinks and beer and which are opened by means of a pull-ring to tear away a tab or flap portion to enable the contents of the can to be poured out.
When the pull-ring type can opener was first developed for beverage cans, it proved to be objectionable because the pull-ring and an attached tab torn from the lid was completely removed from the can when the can was opened. This created a litter problem, and on occasion the ring and tab assembly would be inserted into the can before the contents of the can was consumed, creating the possibility that the ring and tab assembly might be inadvertently swallowed when the contents of the can was being consumed. To overcome this problem, the pull-ring design was modified so that the pull-ring remained attached as part of the lid after the can was opened. This design change eliminated the problems of the removable pull-ring and tab, but it has raised another problem. In the design commonly used, when the pull-ring is pulled, the tab upon being torn open is depressed into the can so that the tab itself is washed by the contents of the can as it is poured out. Thus, the contents of the drink can become contaminated by dirt and bacteria deposited on the exposed tab before it is opened.